A Malaysian mother and son were struck by lightning while walking home during a light drizzle, with the eight-year-old boy suffering burns on his entire body.
The freak incident occurred at 7pm on Dec 4 when Ms Nor Lelawati Abu Bakar, 39, and her son, Muhamad Azizul Jaafar, were heading home from a neighbour’s house in the northern state of Perlis, said the police.
The neighbour’s house was located less than 50m from their home, and the two had gone there to fetch Azizul’s brother, 15.
As the trio were walking along a trail surrounded by trees, Ms Nor Lelawati suddenly “lurched forward” and felt like she was “hit with a heavy object”, reported Malay daily Harian Metro.
“My body went into convulsions, I felt very hot, and before I fainted, I saw Azizul lying unconscious, while my elder son was calling me,” she said.
Ms Nor Lelawati, who works in a paddy field, said her elder son, who was unhurt, immediately ran to get help.
She said she only gained consciousness while being taken to a nearby hospital.
“I’ve been electrocuted before, but this incident was many times worse. My condition is now gradually improving, but I am traumatised, and I still feel pain on my chest when I breathe,” she told Malay tabloid Kosmo!
While Ms Nor Lelawati escaped without any injuries, her son suffered burns all over his body, said Kangar police chief Yusharifuddin Yusop.
Harian Metro reported that Azizul has 25 per cent burns around his neck, stomach and left leg.
Due to his condition, he was put in a coma and is currently being treated at a hospital in the neighbouring state of Kedah.
Mr Amirizal Jaafar, the siblings’ older brother who was nearby and also witnessed the incident, said he and his friend saw “a white light” strike the area where the victims had passed.
“Immediately after that, there was a loud noise akin to a fireworks show. After that, we saw the two people lying on the ground,” Mr Amirizal, 32, was quoted as saying by Malay-language daily Sinar Harian.
He immediately helped the victims and claimed there was a smell of smoke on Azizul’s body before sending them to hospital.
